Not All is Lost

          Although there are countless drinks out there that are nothing more than diabetes in a cup, not all is lost for those who enjoy having something to wash down their meals every now and then.Unfortunately, many healthy drinks that taste good can be tough on the wallet; however, there are some surprisingly healthy drinks that can be picked up from local restaurants for relatively little. Among these are, Starbucks – Espresso, Einstein Bros Bagels – Medium Iced Latte, McDonald’s - Small Nonfat Latte (shocking I know), and Seattle’s Best - Small Nonfat Chai Latte. So, Next time your thirsty and want to stop for a drink that wont slowly kill you, consider these five fast food miracles:

"Starbucks – Espresso
Counterintuitive as it may seem, an espresso from Starbucks actually has less caffeine than a cup of Joe. With only 75 milligrams of caffeine per cup, this brew gives you a kick compared to the 260-milligram jolt you’d get from a tall coffee. How so? It all boils down to caffeine per ounce. Ounce per ounce, espresso does have more caffeine than coffee, roughly 75 milligrams versus 22 milligrams. But because that cup of java is 12 times bigger, its caffeine really adds up.

Jamba Juice – Probiotic Fruit & Yogurt Blends

Jamba Juice just made your smoothie even healthier. Their Probiotic Fruit & Yogurt Blends pack a probiotic boost to improve digestion and bolster your immune system. Made with nonfat yogurt, soymilk, and whole fruit, they’re available in three good-for-you flavors: strawberry, mango, or blueberry. One 16-ounce smoothie boasts roughly 15% each of your daily dose of calcium and iron, half of your day’s vitamin C, and 2 to 3 grams of filling fiber for 230 to 250 calories.

Einstein Bros Bagels – Medium Iced Latte
Craving something cool and caffeinated? A medium iced latte fromEinstein Bros Bagels hits the spot. Ask for yours with nonfat milk and you’ll shave off some serious fat and calories - and get 16 ounces of refreshment for a surprisingly low 60 calories and zero grams of fat. You’ll also score a quarter of your day’s calcium and 7 grams of high-quality protein.

McDonald’s - Small Nonfat Latte

Among its dizzying array of coffee drinks, frappes, shakes, and smoothies, McDonald’s serves up a winner. Its small, 12-ounce, nonfat latte packs as much calcium and protein as you’d get from a glass of milk, all for only 90 calories and zero grams of fat. Pair it with a Fruit and Maple Oatmeal for a hearty breakfast or an order of Apple Dippers with Low-fat Carmel Dip for a satisfying snack.

Seattle’s Best - Small Nonfat Chai Latte
One of the best nutrition bargains at Seattle’s Best is a tea drink. For only 140 calories and zero fat grams you can walk away with a chai latte that’s way skinnier than the competition. And if you don’t do dairy, you can still drink up. This spicy elixir is also available in a 150-calorie soy version. Did we mention that each variety packs 20% of your daily calcium, too?"

source:http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/healthy-fast-food-drinks-2463667/

-Chuka Obiofuma  ''I always blog about scandals, except for when I don't"

The Omnivore's Dilemma: IS there anything good about CAFOs?

Well, I finished The Omnivore's Dilemma yesterday and I have to say that it was a truly fascinating book. He brings up a good point in the book when he speaks abolut the humane treatment of animals. I am proud to be a human because even in the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) cares are taken to humanely execute the food animals. I believe that is one of the defining characteristics of being human: that we attempt to slaughter animals with respect\. Even in some of the most industrial processing facilities one facet of the process that is completely humane is the process  by which the animal is slaughtered. Death is almost instantaneous as a metal bolt is fired through the animals head, causing near iunstant death. It is good to know that even in the CAFOs the animals are slaughtered with respect.

The Omnivore's Dilemma

        In the book The Omnivore's Dilemma by Micheal Pollan(2006), Pollan asserts that Humans have become disconnected with the truth about our food and what we should be putting in our bodies. He also claims that organic food is a healthier and more environmentally sound alternative. He supports his assertions by listing in detail the truth about how most of our food is produced, and listing the principles of organic farming and their various implementations in modern America. He wrote the book in an attempt to help Americans become more knowledgeable about what they put in their bodies, and to inspire them to have a healthier and more aware lifestyle.
        One of the best qualities about Pollan's book is that it sheds light on some of the corrupt practices used by large food companies, such as the abuse of the land on which they grow their crops as well as the overuse of corn in order to cut costs. Companies are sacrificing the health of the environment, animals, laborers, and consumers for the health of their bottom lines. Humans cannot continue to allow such systematic abuse to take place right under our noses. It is important to get informed, and act towards a better tomorrow.


-Chuka Obiofuma "Scandals have been requested, and scandals shall be given"

Farm Subsidies: Destroying the Idyllic Family Farm

There is a huge debate going on between Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack over the issue of "rural subsidies".  I didn’t know what a farm subsidy was so I looked it up and found this great website Farm $ubsity Database.  It defines subsidies as "a ‘safety net’ to agricultural producers to help them through the variations in agricultural production and profitability from year to year - due to variations in weather, market prices, and other factors - while ensuring a stable food supply. However, this support is highly skewed toward the five major 'program' commodities of corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and rice" It lists some facts about farm subsidies in Georgia:

• 70 percent of farmers in Georgia did not collect subsidy payments - according to USDA.
• Ten percent collected 82 percent of all subsidies.
• Amounting to $4.18 billion over 15 years.
• Top 10%: $33,488 average per year between 1995 and 2009.



"Field of cotton" from the Library of Congress
Cotton is the receives the most subsidy payments of any crop in Georgia

• Bottom 80%: $451 average per year between 1995 and 2009

These subsidies are causing many rural farms to close down because they cannot compete with these government subsidies factory farms.  This is putting thousands of people in rural America out of work.  When these out of work farmers move away, the small towns they leave behind are destroyed.  All of the agricultural wealth is concentrated in the few hands of the large factory farm owners.  This practice is detrimental to rural American, rural Americans, and it will eventually damage the American economy.  The government should be supporting family owned farms that are the future of our agricultural system.

~Hannah Frame

Six Surprisingly Scandalous Foods

      When eating their favorite foods, people don't often think about what had to be done in order to obtain and market the comestibles. The process is often very complex, and very bad for the environment, especially in the case of six very popular foods: chocolate, corn, bananas, tuna, shrimp, and beef. These foods, though well liked by many, and highly profitable for businesses, take a huge toll of the environment, and even the laborers who help produce them.They may seem cheap at the counter, but there is a grave hidden cost.

"And Nestle's not alone. A 2007 report revealed that Africa's cocoa trade was bankrolling both sides of Cote d'Ivoire's bloody civil war. And the cocoa trade has also been accused of supporting forced child labor and trafficking"

"The widespread use of chemical fertilizer on corn fields in the U.S. has created a massive "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico – a 7,900 square-mile area patch of water that is so oxygen-depleted that sea life cannot survive"

"Growing bananas is responsible for widespread deforestation in much of Latin America. And pesticides used to farm bananas have polluted the land and harmed plantation workers"

"Tuna is one of the most well-known offending industries. For years, the tuna industry used the practice of 'dolphin circling' to catch tuna, resulting in the deaths of more than 100,000 dolphins each year"

"Harvesting shrimp is phenomenally wasteful – up to 10 pounds of fish are caught and destroyed for each pound of shrimp harvested"

"The cattle industry is an incredible energy and water suck – it takes around 2,500 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef. And the farming of animals accounts for 18% of all man-made greenhouse gases"

Read More:http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/bad-foods-scandals-33010801

-Chuka Obiofuma "Scandals have been requested, and scandals shall be given"

Pet Owners Beware

       It would seem that even the beloved family pet is not safe from the deplorable food production practices of big businesses. Some of the ingredient used to make many commercial pet foods are both shocking, and deeply disturbing. Those who view their animals as members of the family may very well want to consider making their own pet food.

"I knew when I began to research the types of ingredients in commercial pet foods that I would probably be shocked, but it really is a lot worse than that. In many cases it is down right disgusting, not to mention harmful and unhealthy to our pets. Many foods that have been declared unfit for human consumption are trucked off to pet food companies.

Here are 10 common ingredients that could very well be in your pets dinner tonight if you are feeding them a commercial pet food product.

1) Euthanized cats and dogs (including collars, I.D. tags and flea collars, the fur is not removed)
2) Diseased animals
3) Hydrolized poultry feathers - pressure treated feathers from slaughtered poultry
4) Hydrolyzed hair - pressure treated hair from cattle, horses, pigs, and other slaughtered animals
5) Animal blood
6) Dried poultry waste
7) Dried swine waste
8) Ground almond and peanut shells
9) Various leftover parts from slaughter houses such as lungs, spleen and brain, just to name a few
10) Stick marks - the chunk of flesh cut from an animal for human consumption that has been injected with hormones, antibiotics and other drugs"


Read More:http://www.labrador-retriever-guide.com/shockingpetfood.html

-Chuka Obiofuma "Scandals have been requested, and scandals shall be granted"

The Economy from a student's POV (with a side of poverty and corn)

Hey,

So the economy hasn’t been this bad since the Great Depression. As every APUSHer knows very well, the farmers were the ones who felt the depression ten years earlier… spookily, the farmers were having trouble about ten years ago as well. Coincidence? Maybe… but it is also a fact that prices of agricultural goods were low before both recessions (product of efficiency and over supply). FDR helped that with AAA which gave subsidies to farmers who cut production, which raised prices, which stimulated the farm economy (ooh, I like when I get to use the things I learned in other classes! J ) however, now the government can’t entangle themselves as much as they did in the economy in the 1930s (that was an unprecedented amount of interconnectivity during a time of peace).  So with a large  part of the nation already feeling the effects of a recession, the middle class has to be the ones who stimulate their recovery. But when they don’t, a bad depression will ensue. So for those who end up in the poverty zone, what do they do? Well, farmers lose their land, the others lose what they have, and once basics like food become scarce (note that the AAA’s raising prices didn’t help those who were having trouble in the poverty zone).  So poverty is badwhen in a recession even more so than in a time of regular economic conditions (inflation helps people who have debts and depressions don’t really help with the value of the dollar (hence the Populist party and the push for debtors and silver)).

The economy and its recessions have a lot of roots in the food industry. So when it gets wacky and busts, the economy will too. As FDR said “if the farmers starve today, we will tomorrow.”

Catherine Korizno